


glisten

by rubellites



Category: Cravity (Band), Produce 101 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, HwangMogu - Freeform, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, You Have Been Warned, their powers are heavily inspired by the grishaverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:02:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25826368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rubellites/pseuds/rubellites
Summary: "Come back to me."It wasn't a plea, it was a command. and Jungmo knows better than to treat the stern eyes of his dearest as a mere discreet. grief and deceit always come to Yunseong's step in the form of loss, all of his own ends in remains, and Jungmo promises he would be the first to not end the same."I will, yunseong. I will."
Relationships: Hwang Yunseong/Koo Jungmo
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. as long as I'm awake (I'll live with my mistakes)

❅

There would only be six words he’d tell his younger self.

_Let it all happen, just breathe_

He was no story to be told. A common witch. With eyes as soft as a feather and rouge hands sequence for the fire dancing inside him. Yunseong held no more than a mere reputation as a weakling. Too scared of the ruthless talk of the civilian. He masked himself behinds the caved walls of dismay. Eyes that remained soft, bright smile adorned his lips.

Today was no different than any other day, his tavern was securely boisterous as ever. Strangers with familiar faces came by to bid him a good day, whilst fake a fascinated gestures for the odd apparatus and pieces of what they believe as 'magic' that scattered around his store. While they, the people he knew all these years, were being kind to him, he had gone numb to reflect on the mockery they might have in their mind. Living a lavish life as a fire-dwelling witch didn't even bother to profess himself as a dark trader. Well, he didn't bother to retrieve his only source of income anyway.

The winter once again strikes with the devil on its tail, sending yet the worst wind to the village casements. The tavern was like a little solace within the common. Of course, nobody with a right mind would come across an idea such as leaving the town for a day or two, seeking entertainment in a voyage while cold wind piercing down their skin.

This time of the year was exactly why he hasn't got the chance to continue his never-ending procrastinating attempt to undue the blaze inside him. He repeatedly bound to the fact that the heavy winter outside his residence affected him very, very severe. His hands would freeze in the morning, while his skin starting to fracture day by day. It's not like he can't fix those peculiar problems. It's just he was lazy because it requires massive steam to make the ice melt, and he wasn't one morning person at all.

And so today, with heavy eyelids and crooked smile, he continues to greet his visitors. To his own amusement, the visitors aren't quite giving the gibberish talk as per usual.

“Have you heard? the town's been talking about the odds of this winter. It was circling around the bush that this very time, the frost is lethal!”

“But the spring is right in the corner! It's only a few more weeks, the storm will end this winter”

“This wintertide is not a natural phenomenon you fool. The king himself is mad! I heard he planned on retrieving the sacred pendant of Gaia. He-”

The sacred Pendant of Gaia? He lowly chuckled under his breath. The pendant was nothing grand, only a bedtime story he would hear from his mother every night when he was young. It would be nice to have such power to uproar the whole world. But a myth is just a myth. He knew better than to partake the pendant hunting. He heard every now and then that many sorcerers have vanished because of that particular quest. They died not because the cursed that said to guard the pendant itself. But because of their own reckless guts.

_A curse never killed a person, It only makes them live in anguish._

He once again felt the chilling ice pressing down his wrist. Icy runes embellish his pale skin, reaching for the tip of his fingers. Hence, he took no sweat. Crimson blaze arises from his palm, melted the ice away ever so quickly. He traced the back of his wrist slowly, realizing that this particular occasion was never meant to greet his twice in a short span of time. His mind racket with things he wouldn't dare comprehend.

The pendant of Gaia, The eternity of frost in the southern province.

Maybe they were right about one thing.

Yunseong smiles quietly.

_should I pay him a visit?_

❅

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote this instead of sleeping because this prompt has been living in my mind rent-free for months and i will never be able to sleep in peace before i bring this hwangmogu au to life. and yeah, just a heads up, i've been crying to my tears ricochet too much.


	2. I will keep an open eye (while you stare into the sun)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _the true warmth of a summer bliss accompanies their presence, the naked sunlight drapes around them like a curtain of golds, and Yunseong swears he could see how Jungmo's face glows like it made out of diamonds._

❅

there's something grand about residing near the end of the skyline, less than a mile away from where the golden ray meets the daring surface of the cerulean floor. high above the dullness that emits from the pointy roofs and bister walls of the small town. the footpath, the soil along his walk towards the vast and resplendent manor was too, seems like it was created from a painting he thought only existed in fairytales. the air surrounding him is light, so light he doesn't feel the weight that supposedly pulling him to the ground, as if he is currently strolling among the clouds.

the vicious cold couldn't even touch his skin now that he stands afar from the jarring folks, the warmth of the flame inside his veins dancing gracefully from his fingertips to the lining of his arms. all well from the icy runes that had been the source of his rigid breathing and queasiness in the last few days. he had come here to ask for a quick fix but his body might don't need it anymore.

Yunseong doesn't bother to knock when he reaches the entrance of the manor, knowing well the heartrender already knew about his subtle arrival from the moment his feet met the soil and grass along the pathway. but to his own amusement, it seems like the owner of the lavish manor is too preoccupied with his towering piles of books and aged paper scrolls when he entered his workroom. Jungmo's amber eyes and knitted forehead peeked among the mess, it looked like he hasn't taken any rest for a decade. he has always been dramatic, but it's just a quirk that draws Yunseong's adoration more.

he waits for a few minutes, standing idly by the door of Jungmo's workplace, his eyes lands on jungmo's pair, waiting for the moment those glistening amber to greet his own. but the moment never comes. instead, it's Jungmo's lips that greet the air with the word that came last in his list of expectations.

_"fuck"_

a loud snort escapes Yunseong's pale lips, " _way_ to greet your lovely acquaintance."

it almost as if he can hear the snapping of Jungmo's neck, and the bristling of his shock- no, his outrage, spilling into the marble floor beneath his feet, "who the _fuck_ -"

Yunseong have known his heartrender for over four years, knowing that the mage carries around floods of rose petal scent and the sound of the gentle tide, framing his whole build like a second skin. but that only means that the thorns and storms made a home inside him too.

he's not willing to taste the bittersweet of death yet, "Jungmo, calm down-"

the gush of wind alike the beginning of a ruthless gale vanished as fast as it had started, and Yunseong can hear the pleasant tide again, "oh for _fuck_ 's sake, Hwang. it's only you."

Yunseong exhales, the pain from the fear nearly cracks his lungs. if Jungmo dares to rip his life out from his heart then he will surely beg to the gods and goddesses for a visit just to burn him alive, "enough with the profanity, i- what are you doing? aren't you supposed to know I'm coming?"

confusion masks Jungmo's ethereal facade, "no, Hwang, I didn't feel you," the light touch of thin fingers grazes his own cheek, "how long have you been inside my manor?"

Yunseong shrugs wearily, "a few minutes, ten at most," he knows from the moment Jungmo's eyes darken that it wasn't a great news.

Jungmo hastily walks across the room, his deep crimson silk robes strides alongside his feet, sparks like butterflies flashing through each of his steps. Yunseong can't even process all the overwhelming hazards surrounding the fact that Jungmo hadn't felt his presence, let alone the reason bounds to his pale cheeks saturated into a light pink when Jungmo's fingers cradle his jaw. Jungmo's touch was ghostly as if he's afraid he will turn Yunseong into an ice statue.

he could roughly hear Jungmo's heartbeats leap through his chest, "why is your flame felt cold, Hwang?"

Yunseong hesitates for a second, "it's been snowing heavily, the town's caught in a blister, Jungmo."

"do you feel cold?"

"no, it's warm in here," _like it always does_ , Yunseong wants to add, but there wasn't enough necessity to why he would, "Jungmo, I'm fine. it wasn't my flame, it may have been yours."

Jungmo shakes his head, "no, Hwang. my magic works just fine, I could feel all the living things who currently step on my soil." hanging like bridges than burn, he knows how Jungmo took a liking on hidden phrases. but Yunseong heard the exact unspoken words, loud and clear, banging on his mind's door. _except you._

Yunseong's expression falls, a slight panic colored his faint whisper, "I'm not dead."

"I'm not saying you are," Jungmo's voice softens, almost melodic when he utters the words, even though he could still hear misery behind them, "what brings you here, Hwang? I'm sorry for the late escort. these paper works have been killing me for days."

Yunseong decides that he wasn't ready to tell the sobriety of icy runes that embellish his skin, leaving his flame grew feeble and his body tired of melting them away. so he settles for the thing he knows Jungmo might have known too, "there's been a talk around the town, and I'm thinking of asking you for the means of it."

"The town's been talking about a lot of things. you have to be a little more specific, dear," Jungmo's face glints knowingly, his gaze unsettling. he retreats himself from Yunseong, sparing his attention back to the dusty papers on top of his desk that looked more like a garden of ink-spilled roses.

Yunseong gave up trying to ties Jungmo down to his game, "it's about the frost."

"the frost."

he pauses for a moment, mouth falling into a quiet line, "yes, the frost."

Jungmo's gaze, however, never leave the seemingly intriguing paper in his hand, nonchalant to Yunseong's answer, "the frost that might have a string to my unchained disability to feel your flame? or the frost that now clothes your skin, slowly turning it into ice?"

Yunseong's face goes grave, "i- wait you knew?"

"it's something you don't particularly hide from me, right? or if you're formerly intended to do so, then I ought to say you haven't done a really great job at it."

the air abruptly feels suffocating, the glow resting in his build slowly fades as the cold pricking goosebumps on Yunseong's skin. the frost seems to has finished its brief vacation.

"they, the people," Jungmo mutters, flicking a glance in Yunseong's direction for a moment before his eyes settled on the towering piles of books on his side, "they were right about many things. it wasn't just a mere rumor," he motioned Yunseong to came to his desk.

Yunseong feels a massive weight cradling his feet as if the marble floor beneath him turned into a mud pool, he's now walking through a swamp, "I don't think I understand."

"you _do_ understand, Hwang. the people of the southern province, they come crawling to the castle for mercy because that bastard of a king had said to retrieved something that, to quote his predecessor, 'a weapon too powerful for humanity' and it's just a matter of pure misfortune that he took a liking in a piercing-cold winter more than bathed-sunlight days, right?"

that doesn't make any sense, Yunseong would insist, but he knows countering Jungmo needs more effort, "wouldn't this lethal winter only put the king himself in a deadlock? the war's not over yet and the army has been experiencing nothing but casualties with the number of summoners falling ill. why would the king want to sacrifice the kingdom's source of force? why would he gives up the upper-hand?"

"the king didn't have the upper-hand, Hwang," Jungmo's voice goes weak at this point, "I can't say it was common sense to do so but it was logical, at least if we were to divine sacrifice as the measure to gain victory"

Yunseong feels the air knocked out from his lungs. it all makes sense now. the falling of harvest, the people that been more cautious of his kind. the way they would make assumptions to pay him the mind of a traitor, the northern rebellion and fire mages setting the whole world, their white, exquisite land, on an enormous blaze that left nothing but coals and dirt.

"democide," Yunseong whispers, dreads fill his lungs he doubts he could ever put any of his thoughts on words, "he was planning on the decimation of the summoners, isn't he?"

" _fire_ summoners," 

Yunseong clasps his hands, voice wavering, and Jungmo knows he's trying hard not to let his body shakes, "so I'm dying?."

"not that I will let you."

Jungmo hand falls from where it had been holding the scrolls, inscribed with words Yunseong will never try to understand, to Yunseong's rigid knuckles. he caresses his cold skin like it made out of feathers.

"I suppose you're a bit familiar with the name Kim Wooseok? an aspiring healer, one of the most brilliant in the army, even. despite being right under the king's command, he was all but ruthless to me. and I took that advantage to reach a settlement that'll favor us both."

Jungmo continues with murmurs, not so much explaining as he looks like he said the next words more to himself, "but of course, the walls speak. the wind and the earth that wasn't mine did too. the castle seems to never let any heartrender off from their leash, our kind was considered extremely amiable for a bloodshed fort, you know. initially, I was an exception"

_"initially?"_

Jungmo twitches at Yunseong's harsh tone, "it was a bargain, one has always to lose some in order to gain some"

"Jungmo, what are you giving to the king in exchange?" Yunseong asks, incredulous.

"just a bit of my power", Jungmo could suddenly feels Yunseong's heat flaring out from his body, "and loyalty" Jungmo's voice grew quieter with each word, "on the frontline."

if Yunseong's rage were stars, then Jungmo would see nothing but lights stumbles and pouring out into him.

"don't you _dare_ coming back to the army" he growls, looking at Jungmo like he's about to put fire on his skull.

Jungmo throws his hands, visibly exasperated, "Hwang, you know I had no other choice. how long have you suffered? months? years? I don't have a clue about how severe it is but I know it pained you more than I could've allowed it to"

it comes with silence, the definite answer of why Jungmo would reach out to this extent, but Yunseong still hears it. crystal clear. _I can't let you die._

"listen. Wooseok can cure you, he could make the frost stops emerge from under your skin, he could cease the pain. he's been healing a fair amount of soldiers with similar cases as yours. the king promised me to spare your life, it wasn't his intention to annihilate all of your kind without batting an eye"

"what has the king demanded you to do?" 

"you heard what the people said, the storm will end this wintertide," Jungmo replies, "and the summoner of the ruin will end this war"

there's something incredibly fragile with the words chanted from Jungmo's lips. but Yunseong knows if God wants a man to hold up a sky, there would be no other than him.

"Jungmo," when Jungmo gazes darted to Yunseong, he could almost see revolt masking his hazel pair, a set of persistence aflame on his tame facade.

"come back to me."

it wasn't a plea, it was a command. and Jungmo knows better than to treat the stern eyes of his dearest as a mere discreet. Jungmo kneels down before Yunseong then he holds his hand close to his heart. grief and deceit always come to Yunseong's step in the form of loss, all of his owns end in remains, and Jungmo promises he would be the first to not end the same.

"I will, Yunseong. I will."

❅

Yunseong had known fear for the first time when the black mirth dwelled under his bed, among his people's murmurs. the death, or so he called it in the early years of his life, was a monstrous disease that plucked the livings like petals and scattered the whole land like a withered garden. lurking beneath the steps of gullible folks, it was the fear that came with a price. Yunseong had to gives, gives, and gives until he has none to lose. fear comes with a price, and Yunseong has already played all of his cards.

he had come out unscathed from the catastrophe, but the last price he has to pay was the frost that pierced deep inside his veins, not enough to extinguish his flame, but enough to pained him severely. a curse, and so they said.

_the black mirth was the end of the world. the worst of times but also the beginning of an age. the season of light and spring comes in the form of chaos in his doorstep, chaos with features that beauty bares second to none and gentle scent of flowers graced every part of his radiant skin._

corpsewitch is the reputation alike sin given after Koo Jungmo by the land, sky, and the vast ocean. still, he has a grave fondness towards it, akin to the confident touch of his callous palms, menace wears his fingers like a sheath. Yunseong used to think the gods and goddesses had given him a grim reaper in the form of an angel, a deity that will take his life someday. none of them he wished to keep.

but Jungmo wasn't a grim reaper nor an angel. he was a thieve that stole Yunseong's loyalty and devotion. a delicate storm in an open sea. magnificent but not quite invincible.

Yunseong had known fear for the second time when he realized that Jungmo's body is not enough of a vessel for preserving the amount of power he held. so when the news came, he wasted no second to present himself on the castle, the location of the medical wing was the only thing engraved on his mind, he reached Jungmo's rest chamber in a breath. 

Wooseok said nothing about Jungmo's condition, but the evident grim on his expression was enough to make all the flame inside him dimmed. after he longs forgotten the feels of having frost inside his skin, now he learns on of having it inside his mind. Yunseong stands by the door for a moment, trembles at the sight of his heartrender lied down, bandages covering his whole body like a nightrobe. 

but Jungmo was alive, and it's a blessing he'll count for the rest of his life.

"Yunseong"

Jungmo's voice was hoarse, almost inaudible when he casts each syllable of Yunseong's name. but to Yunseong, it sounds like a serene tide, an ancient prayer, one that resonates only in his slumber for months since Jungmo's absence. 

"I don't know what will I do if I were to lose you, Koo Jungmo"

"you will never lose me, Hwang" he smiles against Yunseong's touch. now that Yunseong sees Jungmo in the light, he let his mind sinks in the faintest blush colored his cheeks and the familiar scent of petals greets his nostrils. 

"It took a hundred years for the sovereign of this doomed land to make the corpsewitch bows down to his empire. it will take another hundred for anyone to take the last beat of his heart before the corpsewitch reach theirs first."

Yunseong hummed, his voice dripping with amusement, "you talk so highly for someone who's half of his body covered in wounds, with even worse yet, a broken arm."

"oh come on, spare me. the army had only given me troubles, those weaklings," Jungmo chuckles, his hand reaching for Yunseong dark strands, "have you been well, my dear?"

"not as well as I am when you're close to me."

Jungmo laughs with a glimmer in his eyes, "now's not the time for making your sweet talk into my heart, Hwang. I could barely sit."

the pleasant air sits between them after their laughter died down. Yunseong's fingers trace along Jungmo's brow bone, then his cheek, "you came back," the shadow's smile pulsed at his face, voice low and ever so delicate, "you're alive," and finally, Jungmo's eyes flutter close as Yunseong's warm lips reached his forehead, palm nestled gently on Jungmo's side, resting on his jaw, "you're safe."

the true warmth of a summer bliss accompanies their presence, the naked sunlight drapes around them like a curtain of golds, and Yunseong swears he could see how Jungmo's face glows like it made out of diamonds. his smile tranquil like the moonlight gleam.

"I am, Yunseong," Jungmo breathed and the world becomes still. they're much closer now that Yunseong can feel Jungmo's heart beats against his chest. 

"and with you, I will always be" 

_Yunseong dares the whole world if it means to have the earth and the sky learning to love Jungmo. the king and the people might have written him as a treacherous being, a darkling belong to the wilted land, but he knows the gods and goddesses have been jealous of him, seeking a way to have Jungmo with them, one with the promised land._

_they both know danger isn't asleep. even when the war was over, the cold will catch on them soon. but if Jungmo's breath ends with frost in his heart, then Yunseong's blood will be made of ice too._

❅

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'll somehow spark confusion regarding jungmo's ability so here's a brief [explanation.](https://thegrishaverse.fandom.com/wiki/Heartrender)  
> it's short but I hope you're enjoying this as much as I did while writing this ♡


End file.
